The question we’re asking
This week at Substack Seminary we’re asking the question:
How are you sharing your ministry?
While there is definitely an evangelism side to this in that we are working out of calling that we believe God has placed on our lives to share the good news of Jesus, I’d like to explore for a moment the other aspect of this—marketing.
In the initial email for the week, the question was asked:
“Where and how do people find you?”
“Walk us through the actual path someone takes from ‘never heard of you’ to raving fan.”
“What’s working? What feels uncomfortable or confusing? Where do you feel most like yourself in how you share your work?”
I especially want to explore the question:
“What feels uncomfortable or confusing? Where do you feel most like yourself in how you share your work?”
Where it gets uncomfortable
A while back, I was reading a post from author and Executive Coach Mike Foster. In his Substack article from a few months back he shared:
“Most of us have something we know we need to do…A career move that scares us. Starting a business. Writing that book. Stepping into a leadership role... Whatever it is, we know. Deep down, we know.”
But we don’t move on it, and the reason we don’t move “sounds really responsible,” Foster says, “even wise.”
Foster suggests we make comments like:
“I just need a little more time.”
“I want to make sure I’m fully prepared.”
“I’ll start when the kids are older. When the money’s right. When I feel more confident.”
And then, Foster names this harsh but important reality:
“that’s not wisdom talking.”
Instead he says:
“That’s fear wearing a very convincing costume.”
Naming the real barrier
For many of us, especially pastors and ministry types, what feels uncomfortable or confusing is the very fact of even trying to “market” ourselves at all.
We have been rightly trained that ministry is a calling by God, and a humble, sacrificial one at that.
This is all true.
But I also think that a lot of the uncertainty and ambivalence around marketing ourselves comes down to what Foster names:
fear.
For me, it was fear of looking foolish, or ill-prepared, or inadequate. Something like that.
I always assumed I needed more information, more learning, more data before I could really put myself out there and say I had something to offer.
But the more I thought about it, the more I realized it was just fear—fear of looking stupid.
The deeper question
So maybe the real question isn’t just:
How are you sharing your ministry?
It’s this:
What’s your fear? What’s holding you back?
Why this matters for Substack Seminary
This is the kind of work we’re doing in Substack Seminary.
Not just thinking about ministry, but naming what actually shapes how we show up in it.
Because until we name the fear, we’ll keep disguising it as wisdom.
If you’re trying to move forward in your calling—and something keeps holding you back—this is the space to do that work.
Join us.
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What *are* we afraid of?
the older I get, the more I see how all these fears are lurking underneath so much of my thinking.
And that I can let go of them...